15 years anew..

 The last time I have been with the so very few who may have come across my blog was back in 2009.  Fifteen years ago.  That's a lot of lost time and much which will likely never be completely caught up.  Though I can say lots of changes have incured, be it good and of course bad.  

The S10 is no longer in my possession.  I finally hit a rough spot which seemed to become an unfortunate pattern and I decided to sell it.  It's still tough to think about since it truly was a passion but alas new passions come.   And with that I would eventually own a second gen S10 Blazer and become a father.  The Blazer succumbing to rod knock after a few years of delaying the inevitable and my daughter now about to have her 9th birthday.  

Oh yes, much has changed in 15 years, no longer am I the young man who looked at life in eager living in the moment, but now an older soul trying to clutch onto reality before the midlife crises kicks in (if it hasn't already).  I suppose there is some catching up to do after all, at least a portion for those who wish to know.

Oh, how the adventure have not ceased within the voids of my mind still today.  So perhaps I shall bring this blog back from its deep slumber as I may not even have another fifteen years ahead.

At the very least it can be a passage into my mind for someone who some how still manages to find this.

- Justin

The Rusted Dream Continues...

The last I left you I had lent in my pockets and needed to lay down new brake lines on the S10. I can gladly state that the truck is operational! The new brake line had come in as expected and with some time taking the old line out and setting up the new line with the needed flare nuts and double flares, it was time to install it back. Though working with brake lines is not an easy task. Wither it be old or new lines, its something that should scare the crap out ya and with good reason.

Brake lines are vital to the operation of a vehicle. For its those lines which brake fluid pressurizes and engages the pads and rotors which ultimately keep you and the vehicle, ditch, tree, whatever it is in front of you from meeting. So you have to always keep in mind, "there is no second thoughts, its perfect or its deadly." I had actually double flared the new brake line probably ten times or so until I was finally satisfied to the point that I knew I would have no problems. After installing the new line and bleeding the system yet again, I had found myself driving once more.

Though that hasn't been the only thing to have happened since then. I have replaced the entire steering assembly and ball joints (which by the way wasn't very fun at all!) and I have changed the power steering pump shaft seal. It's astonishing how I can fix a leak for about two dollars in the power steering pump when everyone else advised me to buy a new one which would've cost 80 dollars. Oh the wonders of the world as they seem to be. The truck is in dire need of new tires all the way around and this time I'm putting the factory size on it which are 14" base.

As of the next project? Well the rocker panels are finally breaking down from the poor bondo job done from the previous owner. So I think its time to get them fixed and have new cab corners put on too. This is probably the only time too I'll let someone else completely do the job since I'm not good with a welder by any means. I'd probably have the truck cut in half by the time I got done haha! Parallel to that I will also be repairing the dashboard from the 85 S10 with a dash cap and some black interior paint made by G2. The rusted dream is coming along nicely so far and honestly I think within two years the dream wont be so rusted after all.

Rusted Dream Snaps!

Well as from the last post I have been changing the brake hoses on both the driver and passenger side of my truck. The driver side with some penetration oil and a little oomph went under way rather smoothly. I had it completed within an hour (even with a little oomph there is a struggle at times). And then there is the passenger side... heh oh yes the passenger. It has been the utmost difficult job I've encountered thus far.

First the brake hose wouldn't break free even after soaking in penetration oil for days! I eventually had to remove the whole bracket it goes through but this required yet another feat. The brake line itself had to be removed and it even after days of its oily bath would not set free my strength. The flare rounded even with my flare wrench. So I moved on to vice grips and clinched down and gave it all I had. It finally broke free and started to turn. Though now I have ran into a new problem. The flare nut is ruined!

So I decided to cut the line and flare it. Double flaring has to be done on brake lines due to the pressure in the lines when you apply the brake pedal. I can tell you now that trying to flare steel brake lines is damn near impossible! I eventually got it to just "start" to bend where its suppose to for the inside flare and then the line I was working with snaps on me. All the work I tried to stay away from had become a reality, my insanity.

I am now going to have to just run my own brake lines which thankfully wont be so bad cause they don't use heavy steel in the new brake lines of today which means easier to flare. Though of course it means extra work and beyond everything more money to spend out. Now I definitely don't mind to spend money on my truck especially when it means that I can keep on trucking down the road. Though do to some family mishap, I am finding myself quite broke without a pot to spit in. So now I'll be without a truck for awhile and not to mention that I have to get its registration renewed and taxes paid. Oh what wonders of technology that beholds us with age of torment!

I think I'll tell my room mate, "Please next time, just knight me with the crow bar!"

A rusted up dream.

About 3 years ago I acquired a vehicle. Not just any vehicle. Oh no it was a special one. A 1982 Chevrolet S10. Now you are most likely sitting there thinking, Hm an S10? So what?!? Well 1982 was the first year of the S10's production! It is a rare treat to own the true grand daddy of them all!

Now this S10 within its 3 years of being under my ownership has seen many changes. Mostly from me fixing it up. When I had original bought the truck it would run (hardly) and the clutch pedal was messed up. I'd push down on the clutch then it would just slam straight down to the floor! Now the clutch plate was just fine you see. The problem was the pedal itself dropped yet the clutch adjustment mechanism popped out of place! My brother fixed me up there and I was off to learning how to drive the 4 speed manual.

Much had been done to it cause from looking at the truck I could tell it was a kid that owned it before me and much of the truck was set up to be a short term racer. Well more of a wanna be racer. I opened the hood to find my first fix. The air breather was gone. A trip to the junk yard had me with another one including a trip to the parts store for an air filter. I was proud of myself cause I had made the truck better already. I never knew at the time that it would turn into my passion.

It came apparent as simple fixes such as changing bulbs around the body and changing spark plugs and oil progressed into figuring out vacuum lines and rebuilding the exhaust system. I had changed the belts, distributor cap and rotor, starter, solenoid, radiator hoses, and brakes. I have rebuilt the PVC system and made my own AIR hose system for the driver side of the engine (as the old one rusted and snapped with age), even had the carburetor cleaned and rebuilt. Including reversing countless rigged up fixes from the past owner.

Ah yes there is much I have done with the old truck and there is much more to be done. I came to realize after awhile that I was never going to get rid of that truck. So I might as well restore it I said to myself. I even came across a 1985 S10 with a 4 cylinder engine and automatic transmission. Picked it up for $500. After examining it and realizing the frame was near the end of its rope, I had decided to use it for parts. I pulled the whole front end and bed off of the truck. Including the doors too. I took every piece of interior. All because it would look great in my 82. Because 2 years into owning it though I started to run better and sound great, the body still aged.

The body of the 82 is holding nicely and most of the original interior (with all of its busted out vinyl glory) especially with the nice additions of the fender skirts that really set the truck off. Even the little things like finding a cover for the dome light in the cab just makes me smile. 3 years in the making and withstanding ridicule from others have strengthened my views and only pushed me further to my goal.

First off I was told to sell the truck as soon as I could by my friends. I even was the butt of many jokes that pertained to it too. So the first thing I had to do was fix the engine. I'm by far a mechanic and to be honest this whole venture thus far has be one on going experience, but if I could just get the engine running to be "acceptable" and maybe borderline it into "better" then I'd have something dependable that would shut my friends up.

The engine is the original stock 2.8L V6 which had 126,000 original miles at time of purchase. 126k is pretty low for a vehicle well past 20 years of age! Now though the odometer reads ever closer to the 150k mark. Though it doesn't bother me knowing the motor is still sound. And with it running "better" these days its time to fine tune other parts of the truck and then ultimately move towards the body and interior. Then once the truck is ready for paint, I'll go back to the engine one more time.

So this blog starts off my quest late but far from completion of restoring my S10. I will soon have pictures of the truck through its transformations and of various jobs I push through to fix. Currently I have changed and packed the wheel bearings and changed the brake calipers due to seized bleeder valves. Took the truck for a spin to find everything was going smoothly as predicted except the brake felt spongy as if the back brakes needed bleeding.

I parked at the apartments where I live and my room mate helped me with the bleeding process. As I had finished bleeding the right rear passenger brake and moved to the left to hear my room mate tell me, "The pedal has no pressure at all." I had closed the bleeder valve so I knew that couldn't be the problem. With a thorough search it was found that the brake hose on the passenger side had finally burst. And that is where we I leave you. With the replacement of both brake hoses. My next post will be more of a time line of what I plan to do and where I am at within that progress.

Thanks for reading!